Nutty Homemade Granola

This granola is amazing sprinkled over yogurt.  We eat it for dessert!  Or, put a ribbon around the mason jar and it makes an adorable hostess, teacher, or DIY holiday gift.

However you decide to enjoy it - for breakfast or with dessert - this nutty is fun to make and a clean, budget-friendly alternative to buying pre-made granola in the stores.  

It looks like a lot of ingredients, but this granola is incredibly easy to toss together!  The measurements are simple, so its a great one to make with the kids.  

I make this granola using just a 1 cup measuring cup and a 1 tsp measuring spoon.  A little more of this or a little more of that on a whim, staying fairly close to the recipe proportions. The quantities are wonderfully forgiving, and can be swapped out for your favorite combination.

This recipe is my winner after a lot of trial and error, but other versions have included coconut, sunflower seeds, or raisins...depending on what happened to be in the pantry.  Get creative with your add-ins!  Just remember to add dried fruits in the last step, otherwise they'll dry out.

Nutty Homemade Granola

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

- 4 cups whole rolled oats

- 1 1/2 cups nuts, roughly chopped (I use 1/2 cup each of walnuts, pecans, and almonds)

- 1/2 cup flax seeds

- 1/2 cup wheat germ

- 1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp allspice

- 1 1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:

- 1/3 cup vegetable oil

- 1/3 cup honey

- 1/2 cup water

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 300 F and grease a large baking sheet (I often end up splitting it onto two, it gives the granola more room on the pan and the final result has a little more crunch).

Start with a giant bowl and add the dry ingredients.  The bowl fills up quickly, and overflows with a standard mixing bowl.

Mix all the ingredients together, making sure the brown sugar is broken up and all the spices are fairly well integrated.

Then, in a second bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.  Pour the syrupy mixture over the dry ingredients, and stir well until the granola is evenly moist.

Pour the raw granola mix onto one or two greased baking sheets and put into the 300 degree oven.  

Bake for 20 minutes, then stir and bake for another 20 minutes.  If you're wanting to add raisins or other dried fruits, this is the time to do it.  

If you're using 2 baking sheets, 40 minutes should be plenty for a nicely toasted granola.  If you put everything onto one sheet it will usually take 50 or so minutes.  




Let the granola cool thoroughly, then put into mason jars for storage or gifting!


Enjoy!